Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a flush apparatus, and more particularly to a valve actuation control for the flush urinal and toilet apparatus, which comprises a cartridge valve to be selectively actuated between an opened position and a closed position for completing a flushing cycle of the flush apparatus without any requirement of water cavity or diaphragm.
Description of Related Arts
Manual operated toilet room flush valves for use on urinals and water closets in public restrooms are well known. A conventional manual operated flush actuation apparatus comprises a valve body defining a water cavity and having a water inlet, a water outlet, a diaphragm having a water channel communicating between the water inlet and the water outlet, a relief valve disposed at the diaphragm for blocking the water flowing from the water inlet to the water outlet through the water channel, and a flush lever arranged to move the relief valve at a position that the water is allowed to flow to the water outlet for completing the flushing operation of the flush apparatus. Accordingly, the diaphragm is supported within the water cavity that water is pre-filled in the water cavity to generate a predetermined water pressure at the diaphragm. Once the relief valve is moved, the diaphragm is popped to release the water pressure within the water cavity to release the water from the water inlet to the water outlet. Once the diaphragm is returned back to its original position, the water cavity is sealed to re-fill the water therein to re-gain the water pressure. In other words, the water pressure is needed for pushing the diaphragm to seal the water outlet, such that the diaphragm bears the water pressure all the time.
For hygiene purposes, an automatic operated toilet room flush valve is developed. For example, a solenoid operated automatic flush valve, which is battery-operated, utilizes a latching solenoid to limit power drain on the battery. Accordingly, when the infrared sensor detects the presence of a user of a urinal or toilet, the flush valve is automatically driven to open to complete the flushing operation. However, the flush valves have several common drawbacks.
The flush valve must be big enough to provide the water cavity. It is worth mentioning that the diaphragm and the relief valve are disposed in the water cavity. Therefore, the water cavity should be big enough to allow the movements of the diaphragm and the relief valve. In addition, a predetermined volume of the water must be filled in the water cavity to create the water pressure therewithin. Furthermore, the water must be re-filled in the water cavity after every flushing completion.
The flush valve must be incorporated with the diaphragm to retain the water pressure within the water cavity. It is worth mentioning that the diaphragm is made of elastic material such that the diaphragm can be popped to release the water pressure within the water cavity. However, the diaphragm will gradually lose its elasticity and will gradually wear out after the period of usage time and the diaphragm is easily broken or damaged due to the popping movement of the diaphragm. It is recommended that the diaphragm should be replaced every year to keep the flush valve in good working condition. In other words, the service lifespan of the diaphragm is shorter than that of the flush valve, such that the diaphragm must be replaced frequently comparing with other components of the flush valve.
Alternatively, a pistol can be a replacement of the diaphragm to control the flush valve between the opened position and the closed position. In particular, the pistol is moved along the water inflow direction, such that when the pistol is moved against the water inflow direction, the flush valve is moved at the closed position and when the pistol is moved at the water inflow direction, the flush valve is moved at the opened position. In other words, the flush valve must be operated to provide a strong actuating force that is strong enough to move the pistol against the water inflow direction. Accordingly, the conventional flush valve, including the diaphragm or pistol type, bears the water pressure between 20 and 150 psi all the time. In addition, the conventional flush valve is operated to push the diaphragm or the pistol against the water inflow direction from the water source.
The presence of the user sensed by the infrared sensor will cause the solenoid to move the diaphragm to a valve open position. It is known that the solenoid is made of a number of circular wire loops to generate a magnetic force when an electric current is passed through the wire loops. The solenoid may come in contact with water such that the solenoid may accumulate rusting particles from the water, which may remain on the solenoid. It is one of the common problems to cause a failure of operation of the flush valve. In other words, the conventional manual operated flush valve is more reliable than the solenoid operated automatic flush valve. Thus, the maintenance cost of the solenoid operated automatic flush valve is higher than that of the conventional manual operated flush valve.
In addition, the structural design of the solenoid operated automatic flush valve is different from that of the manual operated flush valve. In other words, when the flushing system is incorporated with the solenoid operated automatic flush valve, the flushing system will lose the mechanical-manual operated feature. Therefore, there is no alternative to operate the flushing cycle when the solenoid operated automatic flush valve has failed to operate.
In order to install the solenoid operated automatic flush valve into the conventional flushing system, the mechanical-manual operating mechanism of the flush valve must be totally removed, which is a waste of resources in order to incorporated with the solenoid operated automatic flush valve.
The configuration of the solenoid operated automatic flush valve is complicated, wherein once the solenoid is broken or the battery is dead, the facility should call a technician to open an outer cover and disassemble an inner cover for the replacement of the solenoid or the battery. Due to the complicated structure of the solenoid operated automatic flush valve, the solenoid operated automatic flush valve requires a skilled technician to replace the broken solenoid and/or even replace the battery, which may further increase the maintenance cost of the infrared operated automatic flush valve.
Most of the automatic flush valves cannot adjust each configurations of the flushing cycle to meet the specific requirements. For example, during the baseball game, the toilets in public facility in a baseball stadium need a relatively larger volume of flushing water to keep the toilet empty and clean due to the frequently use of the toilets. Take the restroom in the restaurant for another instance. During the non rush hours, such as in the afternoon, the restaurant may only need smaller amount of flushing water since fewer customers in this period, so as to prevent wasting flushing water.
Therefore, there exists a great need for controlling each of the flushing cycles of the automatic toilet to meet the different requirements and situations of using the automatic toilet.